Super emotional, Day 16

[vmauch]

Hi! I am on day 16 of my first Whole30 and for the past week and a half I have felt OVERLY emotional. My routine has stayed the same as before the Whole30...the only thing that has changed is my diet. I have strictly followed the Whole30 and not cheated. I can already feel a difference in the way my clothes fit and can see changes in my body. 

 

Has anyone else felt extremely emotional on their Whole30? I am having severe mood swings, feelings of insecurity, feel like I am on the verge of tears randomly throughout the day. I am not about to start my period and was not feeling like this AT ALL before the Whole30.

 

Please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions! (P.s. I also workout about 3 times a week-should I hit the gym more?)

[SugarcubeOD]

Maybe you could give us a rundown of your intake including meal timing and portion sizes?  We can give you more directed help that way.

 

Also, no, I don't think going to the gym more is going to help this emotional feeling... 

[whatmeworry]

I went through a few days of very high emotion -- for me it felt like a lot of "stuff" I had been avoiding by using food and wine as rewards or comfort all came out. It all came out, really. Ordinary conversations made me cry. I did not get a lot of anger, but I certainly felt vulnerable and sad for a while.  It helped to reach out to a friend, my sister, and weirdly enough my trainer (although it was an emotional meeting!). I'm feeling much more on track now and enjoying great evenness.

 

Once we are not making ourselves feel better with food and drink, maybe we just don't feel great until we find another way to feel better. That seems super simple, but it has been pretty simple for me over the past couple of weeks. It happened, and it's now going away. Hope it happens for you too!

[liz.rockon]

Thanks for sharing this. The past few days had me less sad/weepy emotional and more angry. Very grumpy and even bitter and resentful that my Tiger Blood was replaced with Kill everything now and watch it burn. My poor husband. Personally, I think part of that has to do with what whatmeworry describes - addressing the lack of distraction that "naughty food" and alcohol provided for so long. I am on Day 17 and slowly feeling better but I am still surprised at this sudden downturn when I had been feeling so positive. Either way, I'm right there with you. 

[praxisproject]

Not eating enough starchy veg can also create dips/lows in your blood sugar, which can be mood triggers for some people.

 

Make sure you're getting a fist size serve of starchy veg every day and if you already are, try adding more. Some people need that much with each meal.

[vmauch]

Thank you guys so much for the replies! They have really helped. I am glad I'm not alone!

My usual day food wise goes like this:

Bfast: Two eggs scrambled or fried and some type of meat (pork chop or sausage usually)

Snack: I have a handful of nuts around 10 am (usually almonds, pumpkin seeds or cashews)

Lunch: salad with hard boiled egg, tomatoes, carrots and sunflower seeds with oil and vinegar, an apple

Dinner: some type of meat on top of a salad or with a side of potatoe or broccoli

I should probably add some more green vegetables?

I do think I rewarded myself with food or a glass of wine frequently and maybe I just didn't realize how much I consumed and my body is really missing them.

[SugarcubeOD]

Yes to adding green vegetables (or we like to call them non starchy vegetables). Brussels Sprouts, asparagus, brocolli, cauliflower, mushrooms etc... The recommendation is 1-3 cups per meal. Your breakfast has zero and salad isn't really countable unless you have a mixing bowl size because if you consider how very little food leafy greens are when cooked/chewed down...

If your breakfast was template sized (with the addition of the above mentioned veg and also an added fat... 1/2 avocado maybe?), you would not feel the need to snack at 10am I don't think. If you ARE hungry between meals (litmus test, you could eat steamed fish and brocolli) then we recommend a mini meal of at least two of the three macros (protein, fat, veg). Eating nuts and fruit on their own is only going to create problems for your blood sugar, any sugar dragon you have and keep the 'snacking' mentality alive.

It's definitely possible that you're feeling the effects of not rewarding yourself with food/wine but if you make your meals heartier and more satiating, I think that will do a lot to help you in general. The template is linked in my signature below, should you want to take another look at it

[missmary]

In addition to Sugarcube's comments, I would add some serious protein to lunch. Just one egg, right? If that's the case definitely have some other sort of protein as well to get to a full 1-2 palms-worth.

 

If mood is still plaguing you, don't hesitate to have some starchy veg (a fist size amount) at each meal for a while. It does really seem to help.

[GB512]

So, I have nothing helpful to post and am grateful for you asking the question and these responses, as I was really emotional days 10-18/19! To be fair though, David Bowie died, Alan Rickman died... I spent most of last week sobbing. I would suddenly hear 'Rebel rebel' or think of Robin hood Prince of Thieves and start crying. *sigh*